Measurements and shots? I'm 9 months old!

Ben went to the doctor this morning for his 9 month checkup. He weighs 15 pounds and 15 oz. (1 percentile) and is 27 inches long (15 percentile). I really thought he would weigh more, but he is growing and she said he looks great. He received the last Hepetitis shot. (not sure if that is spelled correctly, but use your phonics) He didn't like the shot at all and they also pricked his big toe to test his iron, which was good. She said we could start giving him more foods, such as some chicken, pancakes, waffles, etc. I thought "WOW"! Then she realized he was a preemie so she told us to wait another month or so. I think that was it, but if I remember anything else I will let you know. Jake was so much bigger than Ben at this age, but I guess they are all different and Jake wasn' t a preemie.

Crawling commando

This morning I put Ben on the playmat. He always moves around a good bit on it and this morning was no exception. I looked up and he was off the playmat and moving toward Jake's singing Elmo. He does move commando style, but hey, it's a start. The first picture is when Ben was moving toward Elmo and the one below is when he was heading back to the playmat. You can see the playmat in the background of both pictures so you can tell how far he went. He loves to play on the mat, but I guess he was getting tired of the toys on it and wanted to venture out for more.

The Park, Chick-Fil-A, and more cute pics.

This is a little old, but I thought I would share. Last Thursday, I met up with some friends at the park. Jake loves the sandbox and tends to stay in it the whole time we are there. He doesn't seem very interested in anything else. We met my friends Gina and Jesse, Jake's girlfriend Emma, and friends Jack and Austin. I took some pictures of Austin, Emma, and Jake playing in the sandbox. Sorry Jack, I didn't get any pics. of you. Jack is such a little explorer and likes to go off on his own and check things out at the park. After the park, we went to Chick-Fil-A to eat. The kids love to play in the play area there too. The Chick-Fil-A on Hwy. 92 is awesome! They are so helpful and nice there and even have cheerios for kids to snack on while they are waiting on their food.

Anyway, another funny story is that when we were packing up to leave, I went in to get Jake and Emma from the play area. Jesse already had Austin and was changing his diaper. I was about to go in to get them and all the sudden we look and Emma is standing on the slide pulling her skirt down. We all laughed so hard and this lady sitting there said, "Well, I've never seen that before." It was hilarious and I thought I would share it with you. Unfortunately, I have no picture of it. I really wish I did. I think Emma's skirt was falling down so she just wanted to go ahead and take it off.

Playing in the sandbox

I thought this was a really cute picture. This was Memorial Day and my dad and Jake were sitting and playing in the backyard.

What a great Memorial Day!!

We had a busy and great weekend. Saturday, I bought some new cushions for our chairs on the back deck and a new umbrella. Ours broke during one of the many storms we've had the last few years. Then Saturday night we went out to eat pizza with our friends Gina, Bobby, Jack and Emma (Jake's best friend and future wife). Then on Sunday we cooked out hamburgers and hot dogs at our house, just the four of us. Jake really downed his hotdog and loved his corn on the cob. It was so nice sitting out on the deck on the new cushions.

Then today, Memorial Day my parents came over and we cooked out again. Barbeque pork ribs, salad, hashbrown casserole, and homemade strawberry ice cream. It was delicious. It was great to spend time with my mom. She and her two sisters have been very busy staying with my grandmother 2 to 3 nights a week taking care of her and my grandfather. We haven't seen her much lately. My grandmother continues to do better, but still needs someone to help her and my grandfather.

Ben had fun sitting out in the sun on the deck while Jake "cut the bushes" and played in the yard. Look for the video of Jake cutting the bushes soon (hopefully). It is much more fun to see it and hear it on video.

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend. I know we did!




Mimi and Ben getting patriotic.




I love this pic. I just gave Ben a bath. If you look closely, his hair is wet and sticking straight up.


Getting sleepy on Papa's lap.

Jake playing with his digger.

Jake cutting the grass or rather the deck.

Ben relaxing in his seat.

Cutting the bushes?

Okay, this is hilarious. I was in the kitchen when all of the sudden Jake was making this noise. He also had in his hands the web cam for the computer. He then looked at me and said, "I'm cutting the bushes Mommy". My dad and Lee were cutting down bushes yesterday so I guess Jake thought he would trim some himself today. What a little worker. Look at his intense face in one of the pictures. I guess that web cam cord was really working him. I always knew he was going to be a good little helper. I wish I had it on video. It is not as funny without the noises he was making along with his cutting. It sounded just like a chainsaw or bush trimmer.

It almost looks as though he is wrestling a snake in this one.


Check out that face!

Outside Fun!

Lee pointed out to me that there are no pictures of him on our blog. Today, we were doing more yard work and I snapped a picture of Lee having some fun outside. He says he was just trying to show Jake how to ride his Diego bike, but I think it was just an excuse for him to ride it. I always knew I had three kids rather than two. Ben also had a little fun outside chewing on Jake's shovel. If you look closely, you can see Ben's two front teeth!

"What does the moon do?"

Last night Lee and Jake were playing on the back deck. Ben and I soon joined them and they were both looking up at the moon. It was still daylight, but the moon was of course already out. Lee said Jake asked him what the moon does. Then he asked me. How in the world do you answer that? I simply said," it shines." Lee and I cracked up laughing. I thought this satisfied him, but then he asked what the clouds do. It is so amazing the things little ones want to learn and know. They are little sponges that absorb everything. Anyway I thought it was pretty funny and interesting, so I thought I would share it with all of you in blog land.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you moms out there had a very happy Mother's Day yesterday. My parents came over last night and ate dinner with us. Well, my mom did anyway. My dad ate at his mother's house while my mom was at her mother's most of the day. Jake seems to be getting worse at looking at the camera. I can't get him to look at it or when he finally does, it takes forever for it to take. You know how some of those digital cameras are! Anyway I got some good ones of Ben. He loves to smile, but I guess that will change when he gets Jake's age. We had dinner, some ice cream and she opened her gift. I still can't believe I am a mother of two. It is the most wonderful feeling ever and I am enjoying staying home with them. You can also see Jake loves to draw so he is holding a pen, which I believe is another reason we couldn't get him to pay attention to the camera.

Mommy and Jake

Busy day!

Well, yesterday I wasn't home too much, but it was nice to get out for a day on my own.  First, I met up some of my sorority sisters that I haven't seen in way too long.  It was so much fun catching up and I had a great time seeing them.  Can't wait to get together again soon.  

Then I went to see my cousin Brittany who is still in the hospital, but seems to be improving. We continue to pray for her and the rest of her family.  

Finally, I came home and my dad, Lee and Jake were working in the yard. Yes, even Jake was helping.  He was such a little helper picking up sticks and using his toy shovel to help daddy put leaves into the lawn bags.  After all his hard work, I got out his sidewalk chalk Laura gave him for his birthday.  He had so much fun and what a little genius he is turning out to be!  If you look closely, you can see that he even wrote his name.  Pretty good!  :)